(i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dry-ice container in the form of a casing at least partially filled with dry ice, as well as to a process and a plant for manufacturing a dry-ice container.
(ii) Description of Related Art
It is known that frozen or deep-frozen products, especially foodstuffs that have to be kept at low temperature (about -20.degree. C. or less) without interrupting their refrigeration system from the time they are frozen or deep-frozen until the time they are used, require warehouses, means of transport and shops provided with refrigeration plants which at the present for example in the case of non-motorized transport, it is impossible to transport the products without removing them from the refrigeration plant where they are stored, and the risks of a significant temperature rise are considerable if the environmental conditions are unfavorable; in order to prevent such a temperature rise when transporting them, for example after their sale "in bulk," it is usual to place the frozen or deep-frozen products in an ice environment, the ice being given to the person acquiring the products by the supplier, generally free of charge. A certain lack of appreciation of refrigeration techniques on the part of suppliers and customers, together with the fact that the refrigerating power of ice is known to be relatively low, usually results in them intentionally overestimating the amount of ice necessary, as a precaution, and this results in significant unnecessary expense for the supplier. One could try to replace the ice with a relatively inexpensive product having a better refrigerating power, but it turns out that the pure and simple replacement of ice with such products may be dangerous because of the very low temperature at which these products would have to be used (approximately -80.degree. C. in the case of dry ice) and because of the risk of skin lesions that their use would occasion, unless further precautions are taken.